Activism, Rebellion & Politics

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A veritable “Globalization for Dummies,” 10 Reasons to Abolish the IMF & World Banklays bare the most common myths of globalization in a clear and understandable way.Looking with hope to grassroots movement-building on a global scale, Danaher presents ten arguments for abolishing the IMF and World Bank and replacing them with democratic institutions that would make the global economy more accountable to an informed and active citizenry. Conceived as an effort to educate the public about how international institutions of “free trade” are widening the gap between the rich and poor globally, Danaher reveals how the lending policies of the IMF and the World Bank fail to benefit Third World peoples, and instead line the pockets of undemocratic rulers and western corporations while threatening local democracies and forcing cuts to social programs. Through anecdotes, analysis, and innovative ideas, Danaher argues that the IMF and the World Bank undermine our most basic democratic values, and calls for reframing the terms on which international economic institutions are operated using the principles of environmental sustainability, social justice, and human rights.
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8.95 USD

Discussing the legacy of Columbus, including 500 years of indigenous resistance, â€śbothers the defenders of Western civilization, those people who have benefited from Western civilization, or who think they will benefit from it in some way. They are bothered by the fact that more and more Americans want to look at what happened then from a different point of view. Because weâ€™ve been looking at it from one point of view for all these hundreds of years, looking at slavery from a white point of view, at Columbus from a white point of view, at women and the issue of sexual equality from the male point of view, looking at history from very specific, limited points of view. People have begun to look at history from the point of view of those people who have been invisible, overlooked, oppressed.â€ť â€”Howard Zinn, from the CD. In this instant classic, recorded on the eve of the quincentennial, legendary historian Howard Zinn returns to the themes he popularized in his masterful A Peopleâ€™s History of the United Statesâ€”how we interpret history, and what that tells us about the struggles of the vast majority of folks typically written out of the narrative. With his trademark wit, erudition, and generosity, he stands history on its head, to better illuminate, understand, and act upon the past, present, and future.
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14.95 USD

On February 15 (well, and San Francisco on the 16th) the world witnessed, and participated in, the greatest global peace protest ever. This full-color book captures the power and beauty of 30 million people making history. One hundred, thirty-one photographs of the demonstrations from 30 cities—including Amsterdam, Baghdad, Tehran, Santiago de Chile, Tokyo, New York, Dhaka, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Tel Aviv, Glasgow, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Cairo, and San Francisco—coupled with selected quotes from numerous notables and supporters, including Koki Annan, Uri Avnery, Leslie Cagan, Yuri Dojc, Gunter Grass, A.L. Kennedy, Michael Moore, Camille Paglia, Tim Robbins, Arundhati Roy, Jose Saramago, Susan Sontag, Thabo Mbeki, and Noam Chomsky. This beautiful hardcover edition—created by Hello [NYC]—includes an introductory essay from Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the Gandhi Institute For Non-Violence. If you go to one demonstration and then go home, that's one thing, but the people in power can live with that. What they can't live with is sustained pressure that keeps building, organizations that keep learning lessons from the last time and doing it better the next time. —Noam Chomsky
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9.95 USD

Translator's notes: Translating these 20 theses presents difficulties not only linguistically, where there are many neologisms and lexical challenges, but above culturally mediating from a continental European political context into a distant anglophone reality. Here, and in the footnotes, are a few indications for better understanding this text. In general, the relatively short nature of each thesis and the provocative, almost prophetic tone in which they are written lends itself to thoughtful interpretation, similar to reading the combination of a declaration of war and Buddhist meditation haikus. This should not in any way be understood as a definitive political doctrine. Placing this document in the current political context, it is intended to interact with the reader in such a way as to encourage discussion and debate. Where possible, the original terminology has been maintained, even to the extent of creating neologisms, as well as adding a few short notes to aid in it's comprehension. Likewise, we have also included a handful citations for some of the more continentally specific events that an anglophone reader might not be aware of. There are a few terms and concepts that run throughout the entire piece but that are never fully explained. Again, this is probably due to a different assumption of the (European) reader's prior knowledge. First and foremost are the numerous references to an Empire and the subsequent lexicon are strongly connected to Michael Hardt and Antoni Negri's work of the same title, Empire. It is strongly suggested further reading. Another important concept, one that is continually developed throughout the text, is that of the Common, which can be understood as a re-proposal of the English 16th century Commons: communal land worked and maintained protecting it from privatization. Historically, commons were eventually expropriated from the peasant population by the state. Today this idea is gaining ground in European circles as a possible f
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3.00 USD

What's going on in the world today? Are Americans being told the full story? In this amazing and powerful book by BBC's Jessica Williams, you'll learn hard facts that will open your eyes and minds to a very different world than the one we've been sold by the media. A third of the world is at war; 30 million people in Africa are HIV positive; more than 150 countries use torture; cars kill 2 people every minute; America spends $10 billion on pornography every year; black men born in the US today stand a one in three chance of going to jail; there are 27 million slaves in the world today. Every issue is simply presented, with explanation and analysis backed by thorough references.
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14.95 USD

The history of the colonization of the Americas by Europeans is often portrayed as a mutually beneficial process, in which '”civilization” was brought to the Natives, who in return shared their land and cultures. A more critical history might present it as a genocide in which Indigenous peoples were helpless victims, overwhelmed and awed by European military power. In reality, neither of these views is correct. 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance is more than a history of European colonization of the Americas. In this slim volume, Gord Hill chronicles the resistance by Indigenous peoples, which limited and shaped the forms and extent of colonialism. This history encompasses North and South America, the development of nation-states, and the resurgence of Indigenous resistance in the post-WW2 era.
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10.00 USD

G.W. Sok co-founded of the internationally acclaimed independent Dutch music group The Ex in 1979. He became the singer and lyricist, more or less by coincidence, since he wrote the occasional poem and nobody else wanted to sing. At the same time he turned himself into a graphic designer of record sleeves, posters, and books. Together with The Ex he was awarded the Dutch Pop Prize of 1991. The band is well known for its energetic live performances, their inventive music, and for their politically outspoken and thought-provoking lyrics. After 1,400 concerts in Holland and abroad, and 25 record albums later, G.W. Sok decided to leave the group at the end of 2008. A Mix of Bricks & Valentines showcases the lyrics G.W. Sok wrote during his three decade period of Ex-istance. More than 250 songs of agitprop lyrics, poetry, and rantings are included along with an introduction by the author discussing his development as a writer. A foreword by English journalist, author, and musician John Robb (the Membranes, Punk: An Oral History and Death to Trad Rock) puts the work of G.W. Sok into perspective. A Mix of Bricks & Valentines is written with a sharp pen; provocative, creative, and witty, everything punk and art intended to be from the start. And yes, it can be quite loud at times, too.
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20.00 USD

C.L.R. James was a leading figure in the independence movement in the West Indies, and the black and working-class movements in both Britain and the United States. As a major contributor to Marxist and revolutionary theory, his project was to discover, document, and elaborate the aspects of working-class activity that constitute the revolution in today's world. In this volume, Noel Ignatiev, author of How the Irish Became White, provides an extensive introduction to James’ life and thought, before presenting two critical works that together illustrate the tremendous breadth and depth of James’ worldview. The Invading Socialist Society, for James the fundamental document of his political tendency, shows clearly the power of James’ political acumen and its relevance in today’s world with a clarity of analysis that anticipated future events to a remarkable extent. Every Cook Can Govern, is a short and eminently readable piece counterpoising direct with representative democracy, and getting to the heart of how we should relate to one another. Together these two works represent the principal themes that run through James’s life: implacable hostility toward all “condescending saviors” of the working class, and undying faith in the power of ordinary people to build a new world.
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16.95 USD

Following nearly a decade of research, this account solves the mysterious death of biochemist Frank Olson, revealing the identities of his murderers in shocking detail. It offers a unique and unprecedented look into the backgrounds of many former CIA, FBI, and Federal Narcotics Bureau officialsâ€”including several who actually oversaw the CIAâ€™s mind-control programs from the 1950s to the 1970s. In retracing these programs, a frequently bizarre and always frightening world is introduced, colored and dominated by many factorsâ€”Cold War fears, the secret relationship between the nationâ€™s drug enforcement agencies and the CIA, and the governmentâ€™s close collaboration with the Mafia.
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29.95 USD

Now in paperback, this is the new, illustrated, and updated single volume young adult edition of Howard Zinn's classic telling of American history. A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, Zinn's forthcoming televised series, adapted from A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus’s arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn presents a radical new way of understanding America’s history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.
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19.95 USD

Today, over seven million people live under the control of U.S. jail, prison, probation, or parole systems—the vast majority of them people of color and young people. Between 2000 and 2007, Congress added 454 new offences to the Federal criminal code. Policing at all levels is increasingly militarized and demands more and more resources. The crisis shows no signs of slowing. For a decade, Critical Resistance has organized to abolish the reliance on imprisonment, policing, and surveillance, seeing the prison industrial complex not as a broken system to be fixed but a well-oiled machine that must be eliminated entirely. Published in honor of Critical Resistance's tenth anniversary, Abolition Now! reflects the themes Dismantle, Change, and Build. It presents bold strategies to create a stronger movement of people committed to PIC abolition and build healthy communities free from surveillance, policing, and imprisonment. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 176 p. Audience: General/trade.
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15.95 USD

How does a young person who volunteers to serve in the U.S. military become a war-resister who risks ostracism, humiliation, and prison rather than fight? Although it is not well publicized, the long tradition of refusing to fight in unjust wars continues today within the American military. In this book, resisters describe in their own words the process they went through, from raw recruits to brave refusers. They speak about the brutality and appalling violence of war; the constant dehumanizing of the enemyâ€”and of our own soldiersâ€”that begins in Basic Training; the demands that they ignore their own consciences and simply follow orders. They describe how their ideas about the justification for the current wars changed and how they came to oppose the policies and practices of the U.S. empire, and even war itself. Some of the refusers in this book served one or more tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and returned with serious problems resulting from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Others heard such disturbing stories of violence from returning vets that they vowed not to go themselves. Still others were mistreated in one way or another and decided theyâ€™d had enough. Every one of them had the courage to say a resounding â€śNO!â€ť The stories in this book provide an intimate, honest look at the personal transformation of each of these young people and at the same time constitute a powerful argument against militarization and endless war. Also featured are exclusive interviews with Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg. Chomsky looks at the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the potential of GI resistance to play a role in bringing the troops home. Ellsberg relates his own act of resistance in leaking the Pentagon Papers in 1971 to the current WikiLeaks revelations of U.S. military secrets.
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20.00 USD

Since 9/11, the Bush administration has pressured universities to hand over faculty, staff, and student work to be flagged for potential threats. Numerous books have addressed the question of academic freedom over the years; this collection asks whether the concept of academic freedom still exists at all in the American university system. It addresses not only overt attacks on critical thinking, but also—following trends unfolding for decades—engages the broad socioeconomic determinants of academic culture. This edited anthology brings together prominent academics writing hard-hitting essays on free speech, culture wars, and academic freedom in a post-9/11 era. It's a powerful response to attacks on critical thinking in our universities by well-respected scholars and academics, including Joy James, Henry Giroux, Michael Parenti, Howard Zinn, Robert Jensen, Ward Churchill, and many more.
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24.95 USD

Ever wonder what lies beyond the doors, fences, and ladders you pass every day? A hidden world of mystery, beauty, and free fun awaits the curious who choose to seek adventure off the beaten path. This book takes you behind the scenes to little-known urban spaces like utility tunnels, rooftops, abandoned buildings, construction sites, and storm drains, unveiling the possibilities--and perils--of the world of urban exploration. With step-by-step explanations and examples, this illuminating off-limits tour of the urban landscape will spark the curiosity of eager initiates and armchair explorers alike. Jeff Chapman (19 September 1973 23 August 2005), aka Ninjalicious, was a well-known Toronto-based urban explorer, fountaineer, and founder of Infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go. He was also a prominent author and editor for YIP magazine. [1], as well as its website, yip (dot) org. Chapman died of cholangiocarcinoma on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 three years after a successful liver transplant at Toronto General Hospital (a location he loved to explore). He was 31 years old. Family members say that doctors believe the cancer was caused by exposure to carcinogens Jeff encountered while exploring abandoned industrial sites. Chapman first published Infiltration in 1996. In total, 25 issues were published covering such urban exploration topics as the navigation of storm drains, evading hotel security and adventuring through abandoned military shelters. He also launched infiltration (dot) org, an online version of the zine, in 1996. His book, Access All Areas: a user's guide to the art of urban exploration, was published in July 2005, shortly before his death. The book serves as a how-to-guide to urban exploration covering topics from basic stealth and concealment, to social engineering techniques to ethics. Chapman is credited with coining the term credibility prop, which describes a device, uniform, piece of equipment or other appurtenances used solely to reduce suspicion if one is encountered in a normally restricted area. A specific example of credibility prop is simply being wet (wetness being a good credibility prop for infiltration of a hotel pool) A Guide to Getting Wet in Toronto Hotels.
Price:
19.99 USD

First published in 2008, (asÂ Contro lâ€™architettura),Â Against ArchitectureÂ has been translated into French and Greek, with editions forthcoming in Polish and Portuguese. The book is a passionate and erudite charge against the celebrities of the current architectural world, the â€śarchistars.â€ť According to Franco La Cecla, architecture has lost its way and its true function, as the archistars use the cityscape to build their brand, putting their stamp on the built environment with no regard for the public good.Â More than a diatribe against the trade for which he trained, Franco La Cecla issues a call to rethink urban space, to take our cities back from what he calls Casino Capitalism, which has left a string of failed urban projects, from the Sagrera of Barcelona to the expansion of Columbia University in New York City. He finds hope and some surprising answers in the 2006 uprisings in the Parisian suburbs and in wandering the streets of San Francisco. La Cecla recounts his peregrinations, whether as a consultant to urban planners or as an incorrigible flaneur, all the while giving insights into how we might find a way to resist the tyranny of the planners and find the spirit of place. As he comments throughout on the works of past and present masters of urban and landscape writing, including Robert Byron, Mike Davis, and Rebecca Solnit, Franco La Cecla has given us a book that will take an important place in our public discourse.
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14.95 USD

As enjoyable and provocative a book of criticism as anyone has published in years. Rolling Stone Dave Hickey's prose transports are like an eye attached to a butterfly attached to a rocketship which is to say, lucidity uncannily yoked to both a deft lightness of touch and sheer gangbusters propulsion: the down-to-earth, time and again, taking off and taking flight. The generosity of the man's verve the suppleness of its profusions can get to be downright ravishing. On top of which, the guy's really funny. Lawrence Weschler, critic, The New Yorker Air Guitar is Dave Hickey's memoir without tears a journey through the vernacular cultural landscape of the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. Looking back from the vantage-point of his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Hickey speculates on everything from jazz and rock-and-roll to basketball and professional wrestling from magic and psychedelia to gambling and the culture of little stores from automotive design to series television to Saturday-morning cartoons. The emphasis in these 23 essays is on the way the arts function in the drift of everyday life, outside the venues of official culture, and on singular lives in the arts, lived outside those venues, with meditations on the careers of Liberace, Hank Williams, Chet Baker, Andy Warhol, Johnny Mercer, Norman Rockwell, magicians Siegfried & Roy, and wrestler Lady Godiva. Underlying Hickey's writing is an abiding belief that cultural life in a democracy can (and occasionally does) function in a democratic manner, sustained by the whims of affection and the commerce of opinion.
Price:
19.95 USD

The German Revolution erupted out of the ashes of World War I, triggered by mutinying sailors refusing to be sacrificed in the final carnage of the war. While the Social Democrats grabbed power, radicals across the country rallied to establish a communist society under the slogan All Power to the Councils! The Spartacus League launched an uprising in Berlin, council republics were proclaimed in Bremen and Bavaria, and workers' revolts shook numerous German towns. Yet in an act that would tragically shape the course of history, the Social Democratic government crushed the rebellions with the help of right-wing militias, paving the way for the ill-fated Weimar Republic—and ultimately the ascension of the Nazis. This definitive documentary history collects manifestos, speeches, articles, and letters from the German Revolution—Rosa Luxemburg, the Revolutionary Stewards, and Gustav Landauer amongst others—introduced and annotated by the editor. Many documents, such as the anarchist Erich Mühsam's comprehensive account of the Bavarian Council Republic, are presented here in English for the first time. The volume also includes materials from the Red Ruhr Army that repelled the reactionary Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the communist bandits that roamed Eastern Germany until 1921. All Power to the Councils! provides a dynamic and vivid picture of a time of great hope and devastating betrayal.
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26.95 USD

A collection of writings by Albert Nuh Washington, a former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. Washington was imprisoned in 1971 as a result of the U.S. government`s war against the Black Liberation Movement and subsequently spent 29 years as a political prisoner (one of the New York Three). He died alone of cancer in the U.S. prison system on April 28, 2000. This is the largest collection of his writings and words ever published, and is a tribute to his memory.
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15.00 USD

Education is a challenging subject for anarchists. Many are critical about working within a state-run education system that is embedded in hierarchical, standardized, and authoritarian structures. Numerous individuals and collectives envision the creation of counterpublics or alternative educational sites as possible forms of resistance, while other anarchists see themselves as “saboteurs” within the public arena—believing that there is a need to contest dominant forms of power and educational practices from multiple fronts. Of course, if anarchists agree that there are no blueprints for education, the question remains, in what dynamic and creative ways can we construct nonhierarchical, anti-authoritarian, mutual, and voluntary educational spaces? Contributors to this edited volume engage readers in important and challenging issues in the area of anarchism and education. From Francisco Ferrer’s modern schools in Spain and the Work People’s College in the United States, to contemporary actions in developing “free skools” in the U.K. and Canada, to direct-action education such as learning to work as a “street medic” in the protests against neoliberalism, the contributors illustrate the importance of developing complex connections between educational theories and collective actions. Anarchists, activists, and critical educators should take these educational experiences seriously as they offer invaluable examples for potential teaching and learning environments outside of authoritarian and capitalist structures. Major themes in the volume include: learning from historical anarchist experiments in education, ways that contemporary anarchists create dynamic and situated learning spaces, and finally, critically reflecting on theoretical frameworks and educational practices. Contributors include: David Gabbard, Jeffery Shantz, Isabelle Fremeaux & John Jordan, Abraham P. DeLeon, Elsa Noterman, Andre Pusey, Matthew Weinstein, Alex Khasnabish, and many others.
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24.95 USD

Here, in their own words, are the quotes of many historic figures in the global anarchist movement. Anarchism, a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and even harmful, promotes a classless, stateless society that is self-governed. Anarchists seek to diminish and eliminate reliance on authority in their quest for justice. These quotes while inspirational are often as divided as they are uniform, for what is political ideology if written in stone?
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3.00 USD

Published by Ardent Press. Introductions to anarchist ideas, up till now, have suffered from being one-dimensional, too lengthy, or too sectarian. The history, practice, and philosophy of anarchy has suffered for this lack. We haven't encouraged new generations to approach our ideas other than on mostly sectarian terms. Anarchy 101 is an edited crowd-sourced introduction to anarchist ideas. The content comes from the website http://anarchy101.org and represents the best responses from dozens of contributors to hundreds of questions about the Beautiful Idea: this thing called anarchy.
Price:
9.00 USD